Today’s On This Day feature looks at Burnley’s ‘Claret and You’ programme from the 2009/10 season. Read our notes on the issue below and click here to see all of the Premier League issues from the season.
Burnley’s ‘Claret and You’ publication impressed with its high-quality design and layout. Good use was made of the programme’s square shape to present the photographic content, with the resulting issue being a pleasure to browse through. With quite a high proportion of advertising pages there were only 48.5 pages of content in the programme, with only Manchester United’s issue offering fewer.
Many of the readable features within the programme consisted of columns from key figures around the club. Manager Owen Coyle offered his thoughts in ‘The Gaffer’, as did captain Steven Caldwell and Chief Executive Paul Fletcher in their columns. ‘Talking Football’ was a two-page feature from high-profile Clarets supporter Alastair Campbell, while ‘Tony on the Turf’ featured words from BBC Radio journalist Tony Livesey, who hails from Burnley.
There were a couple of historical features within the issue. The most impressive was the inclusion of a reproduction match programme from the 1959/60 season, when Burnley last finished as champions of England. The programme was presented inside a four-page wraparound called ‘The Daily Claret’, which provided some context from the time through match reports and a diary of the season. ‘Classic Clashes’ looked at past meetings between Burnley and their matchday opponents. For the visit of Bolton Wanderers, the games featured included a 5-3 Burnley win at Burnden Park in 1960 and a 2-1 win for the Clarets when the two clubs met in the old Division Four in 1987.
The main player feature, which for the Bolton issue showcased goalkeeper Brian Jensen, was spread across six pages. As with many of the other features in the programme this was nicely presented with white text against photographic backdrops. Previous match coverage was well handled with the match details, a detailed write-up in ‘Match Review’ and several pictures from the game. The centre-pages of the programme were given over to a two-page photograph showing an action shot from a recent Clarets game. ‘Inside Turf’ presented two pages of news from around the club, and there was also a two-page ‘Junior Clarets’ section. The issue included two pages on Burnley’s reserve and youth teams, with results, fixtures, and tables for both. There were four pages of stats for the first team, including a nicely designed season spread that made intelligent use of the club’s colours.
Opposition coverage was included across four pages, which opened with the visiting club’s details, notes on the club’s prospects, and a profile of the manager. A top-flight timeline looked at the fortunes of the club down the years, while there were pen-pics of each member of the first-team squad. A separate page dealt with connections between the two clubs, including notes on the first and most recent meetings of the two teams.
This Burnley issue was notable for the quality of its design work and the inclusion of the historical feature marking 50 years since the club’s last title triumph. The programme perhaps lacked only a little more in the way of longer-form reading, with the bulk of the readable content consisting of shorter columns.